Prior to the shooting, Gross alleged that Ms. Johnson waged a longstanding public smear campaign against him, distributing literature that branded him a "rapist" and calling the Ganas commune a "cult."

Ms. Johnson's lawyer, Edwin Lambert, acknowledged during his summation that she had distributed fliers and letters about him in the community, but maintained that she did not defame him.

"Rebekah Johnson had the personal courage to let truth, light shine on what was going on," Lambert said. "It was strident, but it was truthful."

A jury acquitted Ms. Johnson of all criminal charges associated with the shooting in 2008, after just four hours of deliberation.

The gun was never found and no forensic evidence linked Ms. Johnson to the shooting, which had no eyewitnesses besides Gross.

Prosecutors in the criminal case were not permitted to present evidence that police discovered an AK-47 rifle and 1,000 rounds of ammunition in Ms. Johnson's Philadelphia apartment during a seizure there in June 2007, because the search warrant was defective.

Testimony about the seizure was permitted in the civil case, however, because the judge decreed that Gross shouldn't be penalized for the government's error.

Following the verdict's reading on Monday, Lambert made a motion to vacate the harassment and defamation claims, but did not take issue with the shooting verdict. He has until July 9 to file the motion in writing.